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“Thank you. You too.”
    “You know, we’re not really working together anymore,” Bowie winked. This had been their relationship since she was nineteen. Outrageous flirting but no follow-through.
    “You’re right. Let’s get naked and have wild sex. How do you feel about whips? I’ve been dying to try them out on someone,” Mallory asked casually as she poured another glass of wine. The shocked look on his face lasted only a blink of a gnat’s eye, but it was enough to make her smile.
    “That was good. You had me for a second. So, really, how have you been?”
    “As if you haven’t been keeping tabs on me.”
    Bowie didn’t look embarrassed. “Once a spy . . . Sorry you broke up with that Secret Service agent. He seemed like a nice guy. It was nice of you to hook him up with that girl from the FBI. They’re a cute couple.”
    “Yeah, they are. I think he’s going to propose. What about you, Bowie?”
    “You know the game. I have my role to play just like you do. Speaking of which, what’s on the agenda? I’m sure you already have a plan.”
    Mallory nodded but didn’t explain further as room service knocked on the door and brought in the romantic dinner for two she had ordered. The waiter lit the candles, uncovered the plates, and quietly exited the room.
    “Candles?”
    “A bride should have some romance, don’t you think?”
    “Bride? Who are you marrying?”
    “You.”
    Bowie choked on his oyster. “Excuse me. I thought your cover was of a wild child.”
    “I changed it. I’m spreading the word that I’m looking for a husband to help me spend my trust fund.”
    “And I’m your husband?”
    “No, you’re the man I’m going to use to make Liam remember his interest in me,” Mallory said before taking a bite of her steak.
    “Ah, jealousy is a wonderful thing.”
    “Exactly. I’m meeting with Tilley and her friends tonight at Montlark. They’re going to help me find a husband. I need you to show up around one and fuel some rumors. They need to be outrageous enough that Liam hears about them.”
    “Will he really care that much?”
    “He did propose to me, Bowie. I turned him down because I wasn’t ready to get married. He needs respectability, and the daughter of the highest-ranking senator can give him that. He’ll be sniffing around in no time.”
    Bowie raised his glass. “Together again.”
    “For one last time.” Mallory clinked her glass to his and drank the wine. One last time and then she’d finally move on with her life. She’d move away from Georgia and just maybe she could find someone to love beside Reid.
     
    * * *
     
    “ O-M-G! How did I forget Bowie?” Tilley gasped as she saw him walk into the nightclub with a girl on each arm. “He’d be so much fun to spend your money with.”
    The party girl was dressed in a skirt that didn’t hide much and a see-through shirt that let everyone there know she wasn’t wearing a bra. Her dyed blond hair was pulled back into a sleek ponytail with extensions making it fall almost to her bottom. Her friends all looked the same in their club gear, and Mallory was thankful for the CIA’s twenty-something attire.
    Mallory hadn’t been this undressed in public for a long time. A black lace bustier matched her lace miniskirt and was paired with silver stilettos. Her normally long legs seemed to go on for miles. Her waist was cinched in and her breasts thrust forward. She was sure Bowie was going to love it. She might have too if she weren't so worried her breasts would fall out with a deep breath.
    “Hmm. He is sexy. But I wanted to be a duchess or something. Wouldn’t that be fun?”
    “Oh, I know!” Tilley squealed with excitement. “What about a princess?”
    “Like there are any good princes available,” Mallory said sarcastically.
    “Prince Liam is. He just broke up with that porn star.”
    “Really?” Mallory acted shocked. “Hmm, Bowie or Liam it is. May the best man win.” She winked at the girls as they